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A recent generous donation of a collection of gardening books included sets of journals from

The Cyclamen Society, The Mediterranean Garden Society, and The Alpine Garden Society

Thanks to a grant from the Capital Community Grassroots fund and generous donations from members of bookshelves, books and magazines, we have assembled a really good selection of practical, informative and inspiring material for you to come and browse.

There is everything you might need to know about vegetable and fruit growing, herbs, pests and diseases, growing under glass, propagation, composting, organic growing, companion planting, preserving and much more.

Besides books there are back copies of RHS magazine The Garden, and BBC magazines Gardens Illustrated and Gardeners World, Soil Association pamphlets, wall charts, recipes and a list of useful websites.

There are laminated guides to wildlife (birds and butterflies, bugs and bees) and ideas and instruction handouts for encouraging wildlife on your plot. There is information we’ve compiled that’s specific to Rosendale, about weeds, and soil.

We’ve also been conducting interviews with a cross section of plotholders across the site, aiming to celebrate the community of RAA members and share allotment experiences. From these interviews we’ve compiled a useful set of tips for newcomers, and portraits that you can see on the library walls.

Books can be read in the library, not (yet) taken away. We’ll review these arrangements after a month or so. Volunteers are needed for an hour or two once a month to mind the opening hours! If you can help, please contact Rachel on rs@jaspere7.demon.co.uk or phone her on 02077372892